CHERUB: The Hunt (Book 1)
by Katoptris Girl On Fire
Summary: Alexandria, Charlotte and Ethan Hambley, the three kids of legendary business couple Emma Stevens and Harry Hambley. That is, until a terrorist bomb rips their parents away. Sent to an awful children's home, they are soon recruited to a branch of the British intelligence, but will they be cut out for spies? Or will their thirst to avenge their parents consume them forever...


**Hey guys, I'm Kat and this is my first Cherub book, it's set somewhere between when Lauren left and next gen, I might introduce the Askers but I'm not sure. Anyway, please R&amp;R and enjoy :)**

**-Kat **

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1: Bomb

"Alexandria Josephine Hambley, you are trying my patience!" Yelled Emma Hambley. Her daughter, as always, was going to be late for school.

Alexandria's identical twin Charlotte and their little brother Ethan were waiting at the huge oak front door. They kept meeting eachother's eyes and trying not to laugh. Their mother was getting angrier and angrier and she looked ready to explode.

After another 30 seconds, Alexandria came rushing down one of the curved marble staircases with her satchel around her shoulders. She slid across the floor and hurriedly slipped her feet into a pair of pumps on the shoe rack.

"Sorry mum" she said, blowing a stray tuftof her fringe out of her face.

Emma looked harassed as she checked her silver watch and and shooed them all into the range rover in the drive way. She opened the electric gates and zoomed away from the huge house, heading towards Central London.

"One of these days, mum's gonna lose it and leave you behind, I bet you Allie" Charlotte whispered to her twin, giggling quietly.

"Nah Charlie" Alexandria whispered back "she'd have exploded way before."

About 15 minutes later, they arrived at the Pembleton boys academy and Ethan and the girls all hopped out.

"Have a good day kids and I love you lots" Emma said, letting all the kids kiss her cheek in turn and waving cheerfully.

"Bye mum!" The kids chorused, waving back as Emma drove into a heavy stream of traffic, going to the office of the company she and the children's father and Emma's husband Harry owned.

"Bye Ethan" The twins said together, hugging their brother and ruffling his hair, before setting off for the 10 minute walk to the girls branch of the school.

They chatted cheerfully on the walk and it seemed to only be a few minutes until they arrived at the large school. Alexandria spotted her best friend Kimberly and waved goodbye to Charlotte, rushing over to gossip.

Charlotte saw her friend Francesca and walked over to talk. She was alot quieter than her sister but she still had her group of friends.

The morning passed quickly for Alexandria as it was double PE followed by History, her favourite subjects but it wasn't as enjoyable for Charlotte, nonetheless they were both in good moods as they dumped their bags and went to lunch.

They were just walking to the lunch hall when a loud screeching siren went off, the girls recognised it as the bomb drill alarm, they grasped eachother's hands instinctively and followed the crowd of 6T students heading towards their designated safe-zone, under the tables of the lecture theatre.

Alexandria dragged her sister under a table and they shuffled closer to eachother. The school's intercom buzzed into life and the headmaster's voice echoed through.

"Pupils, this is not a drill, do not panic and stay in your safe zones." The headmaster said.

Everyone in the room simultaneously started screaming or crying. Even their form tutor sounded worried as she told everyone to shut up and read out the register, marking everyone in.

Three quarters of an hour snailed by until finally, the head gave the all clear. The class hugged eachother and grinned happily. Hand in hand, Charlotte and Alexandria headed with the class to the lunch hall.

The rest of the day past quickly, they had Biology and Maths, although no one could concentrate on class. They all wondered whether there had been a bomb somewhere.

When the bell rang for the end of the day, Charlotte and Alexandria ran out the gates and towards Ethan's school. They spotted him quickly.

"Ethan!" Charlotte yelled, grabbing him into a tight hug "are you okay?"

"Sure" he said, pushing his sister away "I'm fine, stop it!" He said, a small smile on his face.

"Let's go home" Alexandria said, checking the time and leading her siblings to the tube station.

...

When they got to the front gate, Charlotte pressed a button on her keys and it buzzed open. She then unlocked the front door and stepped onto the marble floor, waiting for Ethan and Alexandria, when they got in, she shut the door.

"Right" she said "I'll go put the dinner on, you start your homework Ethan"

"Okay" he said "but can I play on FIFA until dinner and then I'll do it?"

"Fine" Charlotte said, and Ethan ran up one of the staircases. Alexandria followed her into the huge kitchen and helped her find the leftover beef and kale stew their father had left for them. They stuck it in the microwave and perched on the counters.

"I'm sooooo tired" Alexandria moaned, "and Miss Hertzia set us loads of Biology"

"I'll help you if you want" Charlie suggested "but only if you help with my history essay"

"Deal" Alexandria said, taking the stew out of the microwave and putting it into three bowls and sticking the rest back in the fridge. "How cute is Thomas Junt?"

"You mean the guy at Pembleton boys? The one with blonde hair?" Charlotte asked "Ethan, dinner!" She yelled

"Well duh!" Alexandria said "aah, those cute eyes..."

The three kids took their dinner into the dining room and ate together, forgetting completely about the bomb drill earlier, they turned on the TV and watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy as they ate.

After they'd put their bowls in the dishwasher, they went upstairs to do their homework.

Charlotte closed the door to her room and flicked on the TV, not really watching as she had a quick shower in her en suite and changed into comfy clothes. She hung her uniform up and sat on the end of her bed, checking the work she had to do.

Her phone beeped and she checked the iMessage from Francessca, it was just her complaining about her brother and his friends.

Charlotte turned the iPhone off and moved to her desk, she pushed her laptop out of the way and started on her biology. After she had finished, she turned on her speakers and rocked out to a bit of P!nk before turning it off and taking the finished biology into her sisters room.

"So do you want any help with the-" she started, but the intercom buzzed and Alexandria followed Charlotte down the stairs to see who it was. The little screen showed a policewoman and man waiting. Bewildered, they buzzed them in and opened the door.

"Are you the children of Emma and Harry Hambley?" The policeman asked in a soft voice

"Yeah..." Alexandria said, "although our brother's upstairs."

"You'd better get him, and is their somewhere to sit?"

A few moments later, they were sitting in the large living room, with the officers clutching mugs of tea.

"My name is inspector Toby and this is inspector Nancy" the male police officer said. "I suppose you haven't seen the news..." He said sadly, turning on the TV and flicking to bbc news.

"...have no idea how many have survived the bomb planted in the Flickerman office blocks but currently no survivors have been recovered. No terrorist groups have claimed responsibility but-" Toby muted the tv.

"I am incredibly sorry but your parents were killed in the-" Nancy began softly

"No!" Charlotte roared "no! Shut up. Go away! No!"

Ethan knew that to show emotion was weak, but he couldn't stop the fat tears rolling down his face, and he stared shocked at his sister, who was always so quiet and well behaved, he looked at Alexandria. She was staring, blankly at the muted tv, she was completely expressionless.

"We are so, so sorry" Nancy said, "but you will have to pack a small bag and come with us to a local children's home"

"How dare you!" Charlotte yelled, and tears were pouring down her cheeks "no, you're lying. No, no!" And she collapsed. Ethan hugged her limp body and tried to wake her up.

"She's fainted Ethan, from grief, or pain" Toby said sadly, putting her into the recovery position.

"And what's wrong with Allie?" Ethan asked.

"I think Alexandria is in a state of shock, we'll have to take you to hospital"

The ambulance ride was silent, and the worst journey of Ethan's life, he just couldn't believe that mum and daddy were dead. Gone. Never coming back.

When they got to the hospital, a friendly nurse sedated Ethan's sisters and offered him the same thing, he nodded dumbly, and welcomed the fuzzy blackness that washed over him.


End file.
